Tessa Holmes September 16, 2020 Lesson One Assignment 1. Sociology is a science that focuses on the study of humans, their behavior, their relationships developed within society, and how society evolves with time and certain events. Most theories and knowledge of society are known through observations and data collected from studies of human behavior. This is what makes sociology a science, particularly a social science. Sociology is vital to understanding the way a person acts and the effect society has on a person’s relationships. 2. According to the textbook, sociological imagination is “an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society” (Schaefer, 2017, p.3). Utilizing this concept, one can look at the bigger picture of society beyond what they have personally experienced or believe to be true. Sociological imagination removes individual bias and allows for one to see human behavior and society in a different light. Unemployment is a common example. It is easy for someone to believe that they are alone in their struggles and blame themselves for their shortcomings. However, when looking at unemployment, countless experience being without a job at any given time. It is important for an individual to think why something is occurring in relation to society instead of only concerning themselves. This helps answering many questions that are raised as a result. 3. Suicide has been an important subject of study for sociologists ever since the monumental study done by Émile Durkheim. The French sociologist delved into the relationship between suicide and social factors rather than focusing on suicide at the individual level. From country to country, he compared suicide rates and obtained data that seemed to suggest that social factors played a huge part in why a person would want to kill themselves. This is when he developed his theory that a person was likely to commit suicide based on their involvement within “group life;” namely, if a person included themselves within society, suicide rates were lower while if a person was distanced, suicide rates were higher (Schaefer, 2017, p.7). It was discovered, subsequently, that societal factors and groups were an important component to an individual’s actions. These important factors, or connected parts, are the basis of the functionalist perspective. This perspective highlights the elements of society and how they “are structured to maintain its stability” (Schaefer, 2017, p.12). This relates in that functionalists focus on society and how each individual aspect contributes to maintaining its balance. 4. The Communist Manifesto is the foundation of the communist ideology. This document asserted that all workers and laborers should unite to dissolve capitalist principles, governments, and societies. Marx was a firm believer that the class system was dividing society into the wealthy (owners) and the poor (workers) and that this was destructive. He proposed, then, to overthrow this system and implement one class to curb these struggles. Marx’s thinking focused on how the group effects the individual—specifically, society’s potency. This is somewhat like the functionalist perspective that states society’s survival is based on each part’s input for stability. 5. According to Schaefer, the term devised by W.E.B. DuBois, “double consciousness,” refers to the cognitive dissonance that many Blacks experience in White America (2017, p.10). To be more specific, it relates to the idea that African Americans, as well as other minorities, have two social identities due to conflicting cultural perspectives. For instance, former President Barack Obama is a role model for many African American children as he depicts how Blacks can hold power and be influential. On the other hand, the media oftentimes portrays African Americans as criminals and reduces them to certain roles in society—rarely in positions of power. This affects many Blacks’ selfidentity as they are consuming two differing realities.
